Lights Out for Global Warming

Homes, businesses, and towns, from Mongolia to the Vatican to the United States will fall dark in five days time. But ‘tis not a plague on all their houses causing the coming darkness, rather, it's global warming. Sort of.

On Saturday, March 29th, during the hour of 8-9PM, citizens around the globe are being asked to turn off their lights “to deliver a powerful message…about the need for action on climate change.” The event, sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, is called Earth Hour. It is a movement that hatched in Sydney, Australia last year, when 2.2 million people turned off their lights for one hour; even the Opera House flipped its "Off" switch. To commit yourself officially to the project, or to simply learn more about it, check out the Earth Hour’s website--already about 186,000 individuals have publically signed on.

But while there, don’t let yourself get bogged down in the somewhat cheesy, "let's all band together" spiel (they suggest hosting a "get-dark party," or contacting the local astronomy club for star-gazing, during the lightless sixty minutes). Beneath the sugar-coating is a sincere attempt to raise not only awareness, but unity on what seems a vast and abstract issue. On a very basic level, the opportunity to see lights winking out in my city that never sleeps, enveloping us all in an eye-opening hour of quiet blackness, sounds delightful.